Introducing Stratigraphy

Paul Lyle has retired from his post as a lecturer in geology at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown and devotes his time to writing on geological issues. His previous book for Dunedin, The Abyss of Time, won the ASE Science Book of the Year Award 2016.

• Acknowledgements. Introduction. What is stratigraphy? Definitions and branches: lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy; Applications: why is it important? Historical developments: cross-cutting depositional relationships, the sedimentary sequence & Walther's law, gradualism versus actualism, units in geochronology and stratigraphy, building the stratigraphic chart. The Role of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Global sratotype sections and points (GSSPs); the Anthropocene. Quantification of dates and rates: radiometric age dating methods, the geological time scale, the age of the earth, earth cycles, magnetostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, event stratigraphy - examples of catastrophic events. Seismic stratigraphy: advent of seismic data, use of reflector terminations, use of seismic stratigraphy in basin analysis, sequence stratigraphy and systems tracts, sea level charts. Biostratigraphy: microfossils in biostratigraphy, macrofossils in biostratigraphy, biostratrigraphy in industry. Glossary. Further reading/ Websites

'In this book Paul Lyle is able to draw on his considerable experience of field geology. aided by lots of good photographs. diagrams and maps, to make this an enthralling read! Dunedin have employed a fairly large format for this book and the resultant pages are well designed and allow for large illustrations, meaning that it isn't too text heavy.Paul obligingly starts with a definition of stratigraphy and sets it into a historical setting that helps the reader to understand the importance of the principles of time and strata. Due deference is paid to James Hutton and his appreciation of deep time. especially at the 'holy grail' of Siccar Point.Only by going down this historical road can the various potential pitfalls of the construction of the geological timescale be appreciated. This is one of those cases where an example serves well to illustrate the problems and Paul chooses the Cambrian-Silurian controversy that was eventually solved by Charles Lapworth when he gave us the Ordovician.The pioneers came in two camps, the catastrophists and those who believed in the principle of uniformitarianism. Paul shows how these opposing views can be reconciled. The subject of absolute dating is dealt with in a way that enables everyone to understand what can be a difficult subject for those without much scientific background.For me. the best part of this book is a long chapter that examines the stratigraphic column from beginning to end on a world wide scale. So far as I know that has never been done in a popular book before and it's long overdue!This is followed short chapters that introduce us to stratigraphic units and the *golden spike' and the applications of stratigraphy. This is surely a reminder that stratigraphy isn't just about historical geology, it's a live part of our science. especially in the search for hydrocarbons and in climate studies.This book fills a very large hole in popular Earth science publishing that has existed for many years. Go out and buy it!' Down to Earth